About me

This blogname was derived from the novel The Secret Life Of Saeed The Pessoptimist by the Palestinian Israeli Emile Habiby: absurdism as weapon against the (ir)realities of daily life in Palestine/Israel. (The subtitle is from a book by Dutch author Renate Rubinstein. It could as well be my motto).
My real name is Martin (Maarten Jan) Hijmans. I've been covering the ME since 1977 and have been a correspondent in Cairo. I started my 'Abu Pessoptimist' blog in January 2009 out of anger during the onslaught in Gaza. The other one, The Pessoptmist, is meant to be a sister version in English. (En voor de Nederlandstaligen: ik wilde in november 2009 een tweede blog in het Engels beginnen en ontdekte te laat dat als je één account hebt, een profiel dan meteen ook voor allebei de blogs geldt. Vandaar dat het nu ineens in het Engels is... So sorry.)

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

'Attacks on Gaza Unite Palestinians'

Palestinians demonstrate in Haifa. (Photo Jillian Kestler-D'Amours)

Jillian Kestler-D'Amours for Inter Press Service:

According to Jafar Farah, director of the Mossawa, the Advocacy
Centre for Arab Citizens of Israel, the violence in Gaza is rebuilding
solidarity among Palestinians who have for decades been divided by
geographic location and daily circumstances.
Discussion between Palestinian and Jewish citizens of Israel about
what’s happening in Gaza, however, is almost entirely absent, Farah
said.
“People don’t talk about the issue, don’t talk about the situation.
If you look at Israeli media, Jews are talking to each other and that’s
it. They don’t want to listen to the voice of the Arab community, and
this is also reflected on the street,” Farah told IPS.( the wholearticle is here)